Our fragile Infrastructure

There is an excellent editorial by Matt Gurney at the NationalPost.com about the fragility of our infrastructure and how the best laid plans of governments and men go oft awry when reality proves more complex than anyone had planned for. Gureny argues that our infrastructure is more complex than anyone can possibly understand or imagine; that failures are inevitable; that restoration can be difficult; that recovery can take days, weeks or even months. We should all be prepared with supplies to care for our own needs, without power or water, for several days.

Here are some of the highlights from the editorial ...

Sometimes, huge and complicated systems (or even systems of systems) are brought down by fantastically tiny glitches that happen to strike at exactly the wrong place at the wrong time. [...] And so it was during the Northeast blackout of 2003, which cut electrical power for 55 million people in the United States and Ontario. That was eventually traced back to a combination of a computer glitch
and unusually hot weather causing power lines in Ohio to droop and make contact with tree branches that hadn’t been properly pruned. That was all it took to shut Toronto and New York City down.

[...] defending against this sort of thing is extraordinarily difficult. The systems that sustain our economy and civilization are too complex to be easily managed, or even understood by the trained professionals who run them. Returning to the 2003 blackout, the investigation into it revealed that even as the situation spiralled out of
control, utilities operators in Ohio had no appreciation that their electrical grid had become unstable and little understanding of how, as transmission wires overloaded and generators automatically shut down, the problem would ripple throughout their electrical system.

[...] Emergency preparedness is a good thing for governments to focus on. But [...] there’s ample evidence that governments are simply incapable of adequately tackling the complexities of disasters confined to even a single building. If something big ever happens — and sooner or later, something always does — we should all expect to be on our own for days, or longer. The systems we’ve built to support ourselves are just too complicated to repair any faster than that.

College Debt for Life?

When I was in college in the '80s the growth rate for college tuition was 10% much higher than the rate of inflation at the time. And it appears that things have not changed since then. The cost of college continues to growth faster than anything else and beyond reasonable expectations (see graph at right).

The result is that many Americans now graduate with a huge debt that takes decades to pay back and prevents them from buying a house and otherwise establishing a normal middle-class life.

What was new to me this morning is that even senior citizens are affected by college debt. SmartMoney.com reports the Federal government is docking an increasing number of Social Security payments to pay back college loans, up to 15% of the monthly benefit. Now these are not deadbeat seniors who failed to pay back their own loan after 40 years but rather parents & grandparents who co-signed loans for their children or grandchildren.

So beware, co-signing a loan can follow you into retirement!

What if the entire country lost power?

Two weeks ago the power grid in northern India crashed leaving 370 million people without power for six to 12 hours. That more people than if the entire US and Canada went dark! And then a few days later, half the country lost power with over 600 million people affected.

India is used to daily power blackouts so "hospitals and major businesses have backup generators that seamlessly kick in during power cuts, and upscale homes are hooked to backup systems powered by truck batteries." Small businesses and the poor are not lucky and lack the funds for power backup. Some had to go without water as well pumps had no power to pump.

According to India’s Central Electricity Authority, demand for electricity during peak periods outstrips power generation by an average of 9 percent. So the system is overwhelmed and frequently fails, just not on the scale seen last month.  The government wants to spend $400 billion over the next five years on power-sector investment, adding 76 gigawatts of capacity by 2017. That’s on top of the 85 gigawatts of power India has added in the past 10 years. It's hard to keep up with growing demand.

Could you lose your house over a water bill?

The Consumerist tells a chilling story about tax liens.

"Say you fall behind on your property taxes, or choose to make your car payment instead of the water bill. It doesn't take much for some municipalities to file a tax lien against a homeowner, often a debt of only a few hundred dollars [...] Those liens are often sold to companies that tack on substantial interest rates starting in the 18% range, and upwards of 50%. These lien buyers also charge huge fees to redeem the liens and avoid foreclosure. [...] redemption penalties in Georgia, Iowa, Mississippi, New Jersey, and Texas all exceed 20%."

"There is the Baltimore woman whose $362 water bill was sold off to a lien buyer. Interest and fees caused the amount to balloon up to $3,600. She couldn't pay and lost her house.

An 81-year-old woman in Rhode Island owed $474 on her sewer bill. The tax lien buyer snatched up her lien for $836 and then made a huge profit by selling her house for $85,000."

"The consequences of homeowners not understanding their rights or the process of a tax lien sale is devastating for individuals, families, and communities."

A problem with California Universities?

Check out this youTube presentation/animation about CA schools: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5jNK0IKdfg&feature=youtu.be

Here's a summary:

Nationally, in the past 5 years, college costs (tuition, fees, room & board) have increased by 28%. That is way above inflation but it gets worse. In California for the same five years, costs have increased by 63%.

It used to be that a college education was worth the cost. You would get a higher paying job and more than earn back the cost. But today 53% of young adults aged 18-24 are living with their parents and many are either unemployed or underemployed.

Also alarming is the increasing time to graduation. In only six CA schools did a majority of the students graduate in 4 years.  In 13 of 23 schools, half the students had failed to graduate in 6 years! Is this because the standards are higher? No, quite the opposite. Few schools have any requirements for economics or government and students leave quite ignorant about our country's history, its government, and what federal programs cost. Instead they study Spider Man, Mad Men, and the History of Middle Earth. They leave school weak in math, weak in science, with no language skills. Did they learn critical thinking? Not likely. Many classes teach to liberal biases and dissenting thought is squashed.

The University administrators who created this mess are well compensated with Presidents earning $400,000 and all senior admin at 100,000 and above. At many schools the number of administrators now out number the teachers.

Extreme Weather Preparation

Here's some extreme weather advice from USA.gov.

Summertime can bring a range of weather challenges and potential dangers. Some of these threats can occur with little warning, so do what you can to prepare by assembling an emergency kit and forming a plan of action. Find out what you should do if faced with the following weather dangers:

Lightning: In the U.S., lightning kills more people each year than tornadoes and hurricanes. If you can hear thunder, you are within striking distance and should seek shelter in an enclosed building or vehicle. While indoors, don't use a corded phone, a computer or other electrical appliances; and avoid contact with plumbing (don't shower, wash hands, do laundry, etc.). Learn more about lightning safety and get tips on what to do if you're outdoors during a thunderstorm.

Floods: If you have time, move essential items to an upper floor. Do not touch electrical equipment if you are wet or standing in water. Do not walk through moving water that is six inches or higher. If floodwaters rise around your car, abandon the car and move to higher ground. Learn more about what to do before, during, and after a flood.

Hurricanes: If you can't evacuate, get inside and secure external and internal doors. Stay away from windows and doors and take refuge in a small interior room, closet, or hallway on the lowest level. Learn more about what to do before, during, and after a hurricane.

Tornadoes: Storm cellars and basements are the safest locations, but if they aren't available, go to an interior room, closet, or hallway on the lowest level. Stay away from windows, doors, outside walls, and corners. If you are in a trailer or mobile home, go to a sturdy, nearby building. Learn more about what to do before, during, and after a tornado.

Extreme Heat: Stay indoors as much as possible. Consider spending the hottest part of the day in an air-conditioned public building, such as a library or shopping mall. Never leave children or pets alone in vehicles. Learn more about what to do in extreme heat.

Wildfires: If your home is threatened by a wildfire, you must evacuate. If you have time, bring an emergency kit that includes copies of important documents. Learn more about what to do before, during, and after a wildfire.

Earthquakes: If you are indoors, stay away from windows, doors, and outside walls and get under a sturdy table or desk. If you are outside, keep away from buildings, streetlights, and utility wires. If you're in a moving vehicle, safely stop the vehicle in an open area and stay inside. Learn more about what to do before, during, and after an earthquake.

10 Lessons from Greece

theEconomicCollapseBlog notes 10 Things That We Can Learn From The Economic Collapse In Greece.

#1. Food Shortages Can Actually Happen

"In Greece, many people are starting to totally run out of food.  Even some government institutions (such as prisons) are now reporting food shortages."

#2. Medicine Is One Of The First Things That Becomes Scarce

"The Panhellenic Association of Pharmacists reports shortages of almost half the country’s 500 most-used medicines."

#3. When An Economy Collapses, So Might The Power Grid

"Greece’s power regulator RAE told Reuters on Friday it was calling an emergency meeting next week to avert a collapse of the debt-stricken country’s electricity and natural gas system. "

From Bloomberg.com

Greece faces the threat of rolling power blackouts as the economic crisis leaves utilities without cash to pay for natural-gas imports and operate power stations.  

#4. You Cannot Take Water For Granted

In America, "Without truck deliveries of purification chemicals, water supply plants will run out of drinkable water in 14 to 28 days."

#5 Your Credit Cards And Debit Cards May Stop Working
  If banks collapse, so do the cards they issue.

#6. Crime, Rioting And Looting

"British electrical retailer Dixons has spent the last few weeks stockpiling security shutters to protect its nearly 100 stores across Greece in case of riot."

#7. Average Citizens Will Start Bartering

 "alternative currencies have already been popping up in Greece."

#8. Suicides Spike

"Suicide statistics in Greece have been absolutely soaring during the last couple of years."

#9. Your Currency May Rapidly Lose Value

"Greeks are pulling their money out of the banks because they are worried that their euros will be turned into drachmas which would rapidly lose value."

#10. The Government Will Not Save You
  In Greece the government is the problem.

What happens when a country runs out of money?

John Donne once wrote, "No man is an island, Entire of itself. Each is a piece of the continent, A part of the main." What is true of humanity is doubly true for countries, even island nations (metaphorically speaking).

The nation of Greece is a study of what happens when a country cannot pay its bills. And when a majority of the people rely on government benefits and subsidies, the people suffer then the money stops flowing.

According to JohnGaltFla.com

Migrants are being attacked and are desperate to leave the country. Pharmacists are now refusing the government benefits card and demanding cash only for life saving drugs because they fear not being paid in Euros by the Greek bureaucracy, as payments are already many months behind in reimbursements. Sadly, soup lines are the longest since the end of World War II as the middle class has fallen into dire straits of poverty, forcing dumpster diving by parents and children around the nation.

And it is expected to get worse. Greece imports 40% of its total food supply and exporters from other nations no longer trust Greece pay its bills in a timely manner (if ever). Typically in such circumstances Greece would pay on credit or else shipments would be insured against default.

But the lines of credit for many importers in Greece has already been greatly reduced if not outright terminated by many European companies due to the crisis.

And

a more dire blow was struck this week when several major insurers declined to cover shipments of goods into Greece in case there is a default on payment.

Could this happen in America? The US government ignores debt risk and says, we can just print more money. But all countries are part of a larger global economy and if other nations stop trusting a currency or ability to pay, then the country is doomed.

My Social Security

Remember when computers were supposed to eliminate paper and make offices paperless? Well our government is one step closer. For the first time ever you can read your Social Security statement online at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/mystatement/?WT.qs_osrc=fxb-114144910

Included at no extra cost are

• Estimates of the retirement and disability benefits you may receive;
• Estimates of benefits your family may get when you receive Social Security or die;
• A list of your lifetime earnings according to Social Security’s records;
• The estimated Social Security and Medicare taxes you’ve paid;
• Information about qualifying and signing up for Medicare;
• Things to consider for those age 55 and older who are thinking of retiring;
• General information about Social Security for everyone;
• The opportunity to apply online for retirement and disability benefits; and

And best of all  :-)

• A printable version of your Social Security Statement.

Government Studies a Study about Studies

From ABC News, is this a case of government being accountable or out of control?

The Pentagon was inundated with so many studies in 2010 that it commissioned a study to determine how much it cost to produce all those studies. Two years later, the Pentagon is still studying the studies so Congress asked the GAO to look over the Pentagon’s shoulder. The GAO found that after two years, only 9 reports had been examined and that the Pentagon could not  “readily retrieve documentation” for six of the reports studied.

How sad when a study of studies is a failure.

Gloomy Economic News

I saw many articles this weekend that the global economy is not recovering any time soon. We may have wait several years for the "sun to come out tommorrow."
No End in Sight to Global Jobs Crisis: UN Agency

"The global employment market that shows no sign of recovering, the International Labour Organization said on Sunday. In advanced countries, especially in Europe, employment is not expected to return to pre-crisis levels of 2008 until the end of 2016"

95 Percent Of The Jobs Lost During The Recession Were Middle Class Jobs

A higher percentage of Americans are working low income jobs than ever before, and the cost of living continues to rise at a very brisk pace. This is causing an erosion of the middle class unlike anything we have ever seen in American history. ... [for] college graduates, the future is not so bright. Last year, a staggering 53 percent of all U.S. college graduates under the age of 25 were either unemployed or underemployed.

Hugh Hendry On Europe "You Can't Make Up How Bad It Is"

We have reached a profound point in economic history where the truth is unpalatable to the political class - and that truth is that the scale and magnitude of the problem is larger than their ability to respond - and it terrifies them.

Make It Through

The state of Washington has launched a new preparedness website called "Make it Through" at http://makeitthrough.org/.  It begins with the traditional FEMA/Red Cross guidelines of "Make a Plan", and "Build a Kit" but changes the third step.  Instead of "Stay Informed" or "Get Involved", Washington state says, "Help Each Other".

The "Help Each Other" topic has three sub-points:
1. Get Involved (same as FEMA)
2. Participate in Training  (usually covered under "Get Involved"
3. Work Together

Here's the entire text of "Work Together"

No matter how much you and others plan, something may happen that you don’t expect and don’t have the tools to deal with on your own.  After a catastrophe, connecting with others to share information, identify those who need help, provide first aid and pool resources will increase your abilities to make it through until emergency services are available.

Bottom Line

What does it say about modern society that a state government has to encourage its population to work together and share?

Panic At the Gas Pumps

There are many things we take for granted like fuel at gasoline stations. Last month in England, fuel tanker drivers voted for "industrial action" which could have resulted in a strike of delivering fuel to 90% of the stations. Two ministers in the government offered helpful advice:

1. "a bit of extra fuel in a jerry can in the garage is a sensible precaution to take"

2. "If there is an opportunity to top up your tank if a strike is potentially on the way, then it is a sensible thing if you are able to do that"

These two comments caused a panic as motorists raced to stations to fill cans and top off tanks before the possible strike. Fuel sales climbed 50% and stations ran dry. In Christchurch, Dorset, police closed filling stations after the town became gridlocked with motorists trying to fill up.

Bottom Line

As with many other "just in time" supply chains, it takes very little increase in demand to wipe out supply.

Taxes!

It's getting near the time that taxes are due. I just submitted mine with e-Filing and wanted to give a shout out to Connecticut. As a resident of NY but working in CT I get to pleasure of filing two state taxes. However all the tax softwares charge extra for a second state and I spend enough on the "Delux" version to get a single state.

Fortunately CT has an amazingly easy to use system online that let me file my CT taxes in about 15 minutes with just a few numbers from my Federal Tax return. And it's free!

I love good technology.

Important Age Milestones when Retiring

The Money column at USNews has identified several critical ages on the road to retirement. Personally I'd love to retire early but it will be many years before I can touch my 401-K without penalty and private health insurance is terribly expensive.

• 59½. Earliest age for withdrawals from tax-deferred retirement accounts like 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and IRAs without a penalty.
• 62. Earliest age to collect Social Security benefits. But you may want to wait. If you collect at 62 you'll only get 75% of what the government will pay if you wait until 66 or 67 (for people born after 1943).
• 65. Eligible for Medicare benefits. If you don't have employer insurance then pay attention to the seven-month window (three months before 65 up to four months after your birthday) to sign up. If you miss this window, you may wind up paying higher Medicare premiums for the rest of your life.
• 66. Your full retirement age (FRA) for Social Security benefits if born between 1943 and 1954, 67. Your Full Retirement Age if born in 1960 or later.
• 70. The oldest age at which your Social Security benefits increase if you defer collecting. After your FRA benefits rise by about 8% a year each year until you turn 70.
• 70½. If retired, you MUST begin taking money from your tax-deferred retirement accounts.
• 85. This one was new to me. It's a standard age of payments of "longevity annuities" purchased 20 or even 30 years earlier. Insurance companies sell these for for people who are worried about running out of money in their final years. If you die before the payoff age or 80 or 85, then you and your heirs get nothing. If you live to the payoff age, you get a monthly check for the rest of your life.

Bottom Line

Keep these age dates in mind. They are very important to a successful retirement.

Ask a Silly Question

In high school I enjoyed a class on public speaking which covered such topics as how to stand, what to do with your hands, developing self confidence, and formal debates. I wish my long-ago lessons on debate techniques had covered the material I'm learning now with my current commuting lecture series, "Argumentation: The Study of Effective Reasoning". This series began slowly with a history of debate theory and proof but things became interesting in chapter 5 with Resolutions and Topoi.

Professor Zarefsky asserts that there are only four kinds of claims:
1. Resolution of Facts - Bush (or Gore) really won the Florida election of 2000
2. Resolution of Definition requiring interpretation - Abortion is (or is not) murder
3. Resolution of Value requiring judgement - The current congress is ineffective
4. Resolution of Policy involving action - the Government should spend more (or not) to stimulate the economy

Most formal debates deal only with the fourth type - Policy issues, e.g. Proposed: we should do X.

Now the classification above is not that exciting but it allows for an analysis of Topoi (stock issues). For each type of resolution there are known issues that can always be raised against the claim:

A. Fact
1. What is the criterion for determining truth? 
(For the Florida election there were recounts, questions over how to count hanging chads, etc. Ground rules, themselves disputed, for how to count the votes.)
2. Has the criterion been met? 
 (The Associated Press did a recount and found that either man could be the winner depending on the criterion used for which votes got counted or disqualified)

B. Definition
1. Is the interpretation relevant?
(In the abortion debate, if a fetus is not a person then murder does not apply.)
2. Is it fair?
(is the comparison using words with a lot of bias behind them?)
3. How should we choose amongst competing interpretations?

C. Value
1. Is the value truly good or bad as alleged?
(Is ineffective government actually a bad thing?)
2. Which competing value is preferred?
(Is it better to have an effective government or ineffective one?)
3.  Has the value been properly applied to the specific situation?

D. Policy
1. Is there really a problem? Or is this much ado about nothing?
2. Where is the credit or blame due?(Is the problem solvable? Does anyone have the ability to do something?)
3. Will the proposal actually solve the problem?
4. Will the cost of the proposal exceed the benefits gained?

Bottom Line

The lecture sounded so much better than the notes in the course outline.  I found it fascinating that one need not reinvent the wheel with every proposal. There are existing lists of issues that should always be considered and addressed and resolved. If only our legislatures were taught this and thought about the consequences of new laws before ratifying them.

Do a Good Deed - get a ticket

"The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we ALL believe that we are above average drivers."
- Dave Barry

Today I was asked to help our local Boy Scout troop with their merit badge for emergency preparedness. One requirement on the list was about training and safety for traffic and crowd control. This made me shake my head.

As WEVR (Westchester Emergency Volunteer Responders) my wife & I had a training class on traffic control. The policeman who taught the class urged us NEVER to direct traffic. We were not authorized and if asked to direct traffic, would not be immune from lawsuits for any traffic accident we caused!

Police are serious about their authority when it comes to directing traffic. Last September a major traffic light went out in Pasadena, CA at Fair Oaks and Huntington avenues. Traffic was backed up for more than a mile and it took more than 30 minutes to get through the busy intersection. At this point Alan Ehrlich acted like a good Boy Scout, put on a bright orange shirt he had in the car, grabbed a couple of orange safety flags, and began directing traffic. [I wonder what his day job is?]

Ehrlich cleared up the mess in 10 minutes. Five minutes later the South Pasadena police showed up and gave Ehrlich a ticket ($193) for "pedestrian on roadway" and ordered him to stop. Did the police take over at that point? No. The police told him that they are not required under California law to regulate the traffic and they left the scene trusting instead upon temporary stop signs to control traffic.

Police and the city of South Pasadena say they currently have no plans to change their procedures. Ehrlich disagrees, “We have limited resources . . . we need to prioritize them. One of the major intersections out at rush hour in our city should be a priority.”

Bottom Line

Are stop signs enough at a major intersection when the lights go out? I'd say not, but California has other ideas.

Prey for both criminals and bureaucrats

"the book To Serve Man,
...
it's... it's a cookbook!"
- from Twilight Zone episode, To Serve Man

Here's a unsettling thought submitted by a perceptive reader to Instapundit,

Local governments are clearly shifting from chasing criminals to chasing revenue. Which, from the point of view of their own self-interest, makes a lot of sense.

Let’s say that you are a local government, and you think of your budget as YOUR resources and not those of your constituents. You have a choice of two broad strategies (or a mix thereof): either pursue actual criminals for CRIMINAL OFFENSES, a process which requires the expenditure of resources and can be hard/dangerous work. Or you can pick on generally law-abiding citizens for civil offenses via revenue light cameras, roadside BAC [Blood Alcohol Count] screenings, “driving while talking” laws, seatbelt enforcement, aggressive parking enforcement, laws limiting grass/weed height, etc. While those non-criminals may sometimes show up in court to fight the charge, they typically don’t run or put up much of a fight (physical or otherwise). They pay their fines and get on with working, raising their families, paying their taxes, etc.

Given the quality of our political class, and given how many bureaucrats and government employees see their job as a birthright rather than a solemn responsibility, it should come as no surprise that taxpayers are getting it from both ends, and are seen as prey for both criminals and bureaucrats.

It was in reaction to the post, Drunk Driving Enforcement is A Racket.

The cynic in me says that as long as police officers and municipalities see drinking drivers as cash cows and hide behind the fig leaf of “traffic safety”, arbitrary standards based on BAC will continue even though they may be counterproductive.

What does he mean by counterproductive?

Using 2009 data collected by the University of California at Berkeley, California Watch showed that 1,600 sobriety checkpoints yielded 3,200 DWI arrests. A typical checkpoint would yield only two or three drunk driving arrests. ... When you consider how many hundreds of drivers get stopped at each of those checkpoints, it hardly seems productive to catch a tiny number of drivers that are over the legal limit but may or may not be dangerously impaired, while at the same time seriously impaired drivers go unstopped because so much police manpower is devoted to sobriety checkpoints.

So why have checkpoints if only two people are caught on average?

a single DUI conviction can mean thousands of dollars of revenue for the jurisdiction that issued the citation. That’s only the tip of the iceberg, though. While sobriety checkpoints don’t catch many seriously drunk drivers, they do nab folks for equipment infractions or other sorts of minor crimes and they end up generating a huge amount of revenue for those municipalities and police officers that do use checkpoints. That same California Watch story revealed that those 1,600 police checkpoints may have yielded just 3,200 arrests for DWI, but they resulted in $40 million in fines, plus $30 million in overtime pay for cops and a staggering 24,000 vehicle confiscations.

Bottom Line

Never forget that government exists to serve the people, not exploit them [or eat them].

The 11th Hour of the 11th Day of the 11th Month

In war, there are no unwounded soldiers.
-José Narosky

This year adds an extra 11 to the remembrance of Veterans Day on 11/11/11.

It was at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918 that the Germans signed the Armistice to end the Western Front of World War One. This event is celebrated in many allied countries as Veterans Day, Armistice Day (France), Poppy Day (South Africa), National Day (Poland), Day of Peace (Belgium) and Remembrance Day (British Commonwealth). While the war in Europe ended on this day, hostilities continued in the Russian Empire and in parts of the old Ottoman Empire. 

President Woodrow Wilson first proclaimed an Armistice Day the following year on November 11, 1919. However it was not until May 13, 1938 that congress made the 11th of November a legal holiday; "a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as 'Armistice Day'."

In 1953 Al King, a shoe store owner in Emporia, Kansas, had the idea to expand Armistice Day to celebrate all veterans, not just those who served in World War I. With the help of Rep. Ed Rees, also from Emporia, a bill was passed by Congress and signed into law on May 26, 1954 by President Dwight Eisenhower. Congress amended this act on November 8, 1954, replacing "Armistice" with Veterans, and it has been known as Veterans Day ever since.

In 1971 the holiday was moved to the fourth Monday of October in accordance with the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. It was moved back to November 11 in 1978.

In many parts of the world people take a two-minute moment of silence at 11:00 a.m. as a sign of respect for the roughly 20 million who died in the war. The Service of Remembrance in many Commonwealth countries generally includes the sounding of "Last Post," followed by the two minutes of silence, followed by the sounding of "Reveille" (or, more commonly, "The Rouse"), and finished by a recitation of the "Ode of Remembrance." The "Flowers of the Forest", "O Valiant Hearts", "I Vow to Thee, My Country" and "Jerusalem" are often played during the service. Services also include wreaths laid to honour the fallen, a blessing, and national anthems.

The poppy's significance to Remembrance Day is a result of Canadian military physician John McCrae's poem In Flanders Fields. Poppies bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War I, their red colour an appropriate symbol for the bloodshed of trench warfare. An American YMCA Overseas War Secretaries employee, Moina Michael, was inspired by McCrae's poem, and made an effort to have the poppy adopted as a national symbol of remembrance, and succeeded in having the National American Legion Conference adopt it two years later. Some people choose to wear white poppies, which emphasises a desire for peaceful alternatives to military action. The Royal Canadian Legion suggests that poppies be worn on the left lapel, or as close to the heart as possible.

Bottom Line

For grammarians, please note that while Veteran’s Day and Verterans’ Day are grammatically correct, the official spelling of the holiday in the US is Veterans Day with no apostrophe.

Emergency Alert System Nationwide Test

"This is a test of the Emergency Broadcast System. The broadcasters of your area in voluntary cooperation with the FCC and federal, state and local authorities have developed this system to keep you informed in the event of an emergency."

This afternoon at 2pm (Eastern Standard Time) the Emergency Alert System, or EAS, will launch its first nationwide test. I'm sure you're familiar with the "this is only a test" that occurs periodically on TV and radio. The purpose of today's test is to assess the reliability and effectiveness of the system in alerting the entire public.

Today's test will involve only "broadcast radio and television, cable television, satellite radio and television and wireline video services" that participate in the EAS.  The Emergency Alert System transmits emergency alerts and warnings to the American public at the national, Tribal, state and local levels. A typical alert of a weather threat or child abduction makes sense at local and state levels. It's hard to imagine a national alert short of war or significant terrorist attack or major disaster such as an mega-earthquake or tsunami.

While local/state components of the EAS are tested on a weekly/monthly basis, there has never been an end-to-end nationwide test of the system. Only a complete, top-down test of the EAS can provide an appropriate diagnosis of the system's performance.

Although the nationwide EAS test may resemble the periodic monthly EAS tests that most consumers are familiar with, there will be some differences. The audio message will say "this is a test", however due to limitations of the EAS, the video test message may not be the same and may not indicate "this is a test" for everyone. In some cases there may be no image at all. FEMA and the FCC are working with organizations representing the deaf and hard of hearing to prepare that community for the nationwide test.

This test is being conducted on November 9 because this date is near the end of hurricane season and before the severe winter weather season begins. The 2 p.m. EST broadcast will minimize disruption during rush hours while ensuring that the test occurs during working hours across the country.

Bottom Line

The test will last approximately 30 seconds at 2pm EST, Nov 9, 2011.

Updated Nov 10

The test showed many areas with room for improvement. ABC News asks,
National Emergency Alert Test: Total Failure?

"Some people never saw an alert, others said the audio was distorted and there were even claims that Lady Gaga’s song “Paparazzi” was playing instead of the correct audio. On KABC-TV in Los Angeles, a screen flashed with the EAS graphic for several minutes, but there was no audio or information given.  ...
On the television feeds at ABC News’ headquarters in New York City, CNN ran a preview graphic saying, “Soon: Emergency Test Alert,” but the actual test never ran. Both ESPN and Fox News teased that the test was coming up, but it never happened. On MTV, it was afternoon programming as usual."

The FEMA administrator says, "I apologize for the disruptions that people went through. But we need to test things to find out what works and what doesn’t work.”